I Hate "The End"

Surprisingly, this isn't another addition to the discussion that's consumed the blogging section of GI for the past few weeks. It is, however, a complaint that arose from finishing Mass Effect 3: I hate finishing games. I really, really do.

I typically don't play through the story components of games multiple times, and so once it's done the first time, that whole section of the game remains untouched from there on out. This tendency annoys me, since I recognize the developer put days of sweat and tears into the plot, content, and characters.

Finishing RPGs is particularly disheartening: most of these games promote player choice, freedom, and customization. Going through them again just doesn't feel the same, however, and therefore, a second playthrough is the last. I go without experimenting all the side experiences, since the main one is already done.

I also hate an end simply because it is what it is: an end. What you've done and seen is over, unless you want to experience the same events another time. The intricate sense of exploration and immersion is gone for me, since I know what will happen already. Even though video-games aren't movies or books, the fact that they eventually stop offering new experiences is similar to both of the latter mediums; both of which share the same one-time-through mentality from me. I'll watch the movie and play the campaign again and again if a friend wants me to go through it them, but other than that, the typical title doesn't draw my attention enough to play through the campaign again.

I hate endings. The great experiences I've had from the singleplayer have ceased. It's done.

Now, this perception of endings is why I'm pretty excited for post-ending add-on DLC. Once I've finished a game, I typically buy any future DLC that can return me to the interactive worlds I love once again for another round of excellent experiences. And this is why I heavily anticipate Bioware's upcoming addition. Yeah, it's great that they'll embellish upon what the game left players, but that's not the main reason why I'm excited.

I get to go back into the Mass Effect universe one last time before Bioware leaves it for dead, and I'll get to experience something new once more. I've been a ME fan from the beginning (I still remember reading GI Magazine's first article on Mass Effect with ravenous interest), and to leave this universe behind in the search for another game is, well, kinda depressing. It's been multiple years, and not a day has gone by when I didn't wonder what the subsequent Mass Effect game would do with my decisions from the last one. And now I know what my decisions wrought.

Shepard's storyline is complete, and the only way I can see the crew I've grown attached to is to play through the sequences I've already gone through. I know what will happen to them, though they don't. These characters will go on in blissful ignorance, thinking the things they see Shepard do is the first venture into ridding the galaxy of the Reaper threat.

Of course I'll keep playing games. At this point, I don't see myself completely stopping any time soon. I'm just always disappointed when the end comes.

What do you feel when you've finished a good game? What do you do/play afterwards?